Ethereum’s Gas Limit Proposal: Can It Really Reach 2,000 TPS? Find Out!

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Ah, the eternal quest for more transactions! Ethereum’s resident researcher, Dankrad Feist, has brought forth a proposal that could radically alter the blockchain landscape. Meet Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP-9698), a brave plan to scale Ethereum’s mainnet by drastically increasing its gas limit. Because, you know, everyone loves a bigger gas tank. 🚗💨

Feist, ever the optimist, suggests a 100-fold increase in Ethereum’s gas limit over the course of four years. This lofty dream could skyrocket Ethereum’s transaction throughput to a mind-boggling 2,000 transactions per second (TPS). That’s right, 2,000. It’s almost like Ethereum’s gas tank will never be empty again! ⛽

How Ethereum’s Gas Limit Expansion Could Unlock 2,000 TPS

Let’s get some perspective here, shall we? Ethereum’s gas limit is currently sitting at a modest 36 million, which allows for a measly 14-20 TPS, with a theoretical maximum of 119. I know, shocking, right? But over in Solana’s corner, they’re happily cranking out 800 to over 1,000 TPS, and, just for fun, Solana could theoretically reach 65,000 TPS. You know, just in case Ethereum was feeling inadequate. 😅

Now, back to EIP-9698. Feist proposes cranking that gas limit up to a staggering 3.6 billion, which would allow blocks to accommodate roughly 6,000 transactions. To make this dream a reality, a “deterministic gas limit growth plan” will be set in motion from epoch 369017, which will be around June 1. It’s like planning your grocery trip for the year — except with exponentially more gas. ⛽🍞

What’s this ‘deterministic’ plan, you ask? Well, it’s simply a fancy way of saying they’ll increase the gas limit predictably. No surprises, just good old-fashioned growth at regular intervals. After all, who doesn’t love a steady increase? Especially when it means you get more Ethereum for your trouble! 💸

“Ethereum clients will vote to increase the gas limit according to an exponential schedule unless explicitly configured otherwise by the user,” Feist kindly reminded us. Which, you know, is exactly what everyone wants — control without chaos.

So, in simpler terms, Ethereum’s gas limit will be incremented every beacon chain epoch (about every 164,250 epochs, roughly every two years), with a ten-fold increase. This increase will last for four years. In the end, Ethereum might just reach the magical number of 2,000 TPS. Imagine the possibilities—blockchain utopia, anyone? 😍

Feist, ever the visionary, explained, “The current gas limit mechanism relies on miner/operator voting, which lacks coordination and predictability. This new plan will eliminate the chaos and bring a predictable growth trajectory.” Because who doesn’t want predictability? 🙄

The proposal’s beauty lies in its backward compatibility. It’s as if the developers have gently whispered, “Don’t worry, old versions, you’re still invited to the party.” For the tech-savvy among us, you can still tweak settings manually. No need to panic. But remember, this could be a big leap forward for Ethereum’s scalability. 💻📈

However, don’t get too excited just yet. Feist did caution that rapidly increasing the gas limit could strain less optimized nodes and slow down block propagation. But fear not—these gradual increments will give everyone plenty of time to optimize and adapt. No one likes a surprise, after all. 😬

“The exponential schedule with gradual increments gives node operators and developers plenty of time to adapt,” Feist wisely noted. Because let’s face it—no one likes to be left scrambling.

If this proposal is accepted, Ethereum might just turn into the heavyweight contender it’s always promised to be. The Ethereum vs. Solana race could get a little more interesting. Meanwhile, the Pectra upgrade will launch next week, focusing on better scalability, reduced fees, and improved validator participation. It’s almost like Ethereum is getting a makeover. 💅

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2025-04-28 14:11